Join RF Generation Playcast hosts, Rich (singlebanana) and Shawn (GrayGhost81), as the "Dynamic Duo" (R.I.P. Adam West) discuss one of Ninja Theory's early, third-person, action/adventure titles, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. This month's Playcast flashes forward (...errr we kinda hope not) into dystopian America where humans are being "enslaved" by a mysterious source and our world has been taken over by blood-thirsty robots. Yeeeeeesh! In this episode, we talk about the gameplay mechanics, some "despicable" and yummy characters, the game's soundtrack, and pose our thoughts on Enslaved's ending. Did this game's sometimes glitchy tendencies muck up what could have been a great title? Did Rich's modern game skill shortcomings prevent him from finishing the game? And how does Shawn reeeeeeeeeally feel about "Hidden Gems?" The answers to these questions and many more in this month's episode of the RF Generation Playcast!

As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts on this game on our discussion page (linked below). We will respond to your comments and are always happy to discuss the game more. We hope you enjoy our show. Please be sure to rate and write a review of the show on iTunes to help us increase our listenership. Thanks for the listen!

Join RF Generation Playcast hosts, Rich (singlebanana), Shawn (GrayGhost81), and returning guest, Pam (host of Cannot Be Tamed and Media Mavens) as they discuss a lesser known title from a well-known developer. This month's Playcast plunges into Febrauray's site playthrough of Murdered: Soul Suspect, which was developed by Square Enix. Opinions of this game typically range from both ends of the spectrum, so how will our cast of gamers fall on it? Is it worth the few bucks a used copy commands, or are you better off leaving it on the shelf? Did Rich enjoy the overall narrative? Did Pam take issue with the combat? And did Shawn enjoy making little cat sounds? Be sure to tune in to this episode of the RF Generation Playcast to find out!

As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts on this game on our discussion page (linked below). We will respond to your comments and are always happy to discuss the game more. We hope you enjoy our show. Please be sure to rate and write a review of the show on iTunes to help us increase our listenership. Thanks for the listen!

Join RF Generation Playcast hosts, Rich (singlebanana) and Shawn (GrayGhost81), as they discuss the September playthrough of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. In this episode, we discuss our history with Lego video games, our childhood love of Lego and Batman, the ins and outs of the gameplay, and the differences in the handheld and home console versions. How does this game differ from other games in the Lego franchise? Is this rather cheap title worth your time as a fan/non-fan of in-game collectables? You won't want to miss this episode of the RFG Playcast!

As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts on this games on our discussion page (linked below). We will respond to your comments and are always happy to discuss these games more. We hope you enjoy our show. Please be sure to rate and write a review of the show on iTunes to help us increase our listenership. Thanks for the listen!

Next month, we hope that some of you will join us in playing in the first episodic, adventure game of the RF Generation Community Playthrough. In March, we will tackle Life is Strange, a game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. Life is Strange features five episodes that chronicle the turbulent teenage years of Max Caulfield who has the mysterious ability to rewind time after witnessing an unexpected tornado. Guide Max through this modern, coming of age story and help her learn how to use her time-shifting powers to prevent this natural disaster from demolishing her town.

Life is Strange has been praised for its fantastic character development and effort to tackle certain subjects considered taboo for video games. It has won several awards including Develop Industry Excellence Awards (New Games IP - PC/console & Use of Narrative), Golden Joystick Award (Performance of the Year [Ashly Burch]), Global Game Awards (Best Adventure & Best Original Game), The Game Awards (Games for Change), Playstation Official Magazine (Best Episodic Adventure & Best Moment), New Statesman's (Best Game of 2015), and received countless other nominations and runner-ups awards. Life is Strange is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam/PC, and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (both via download). We hope that this pick interests you and that you'll take the time to join us in March!

So your 2015 New Year's resolution is to join in and play more of the community playthrough titles, eh? Well start off January with a bang and hook up with the RF Generation Playthrough Group as they ring in the New Year with a NES cult classic and a lesser known, but fantastic, shoot 'em up, adventure title.

It has been compared favorably and otherwise to everything from Braid to Ico. In truth, Limbo is a sum of several familiar gameplay components, wrapped in a dark, morbid, and mysteriously surreal narrative. What it is not, is for the faint of heart. Or wallet.

Gameplay consists of platforming, with only a jump and a contextual interaction button adding to the standard left and right movement. The sensitivity of the left analog stick determines walking, running, or creeping along, and that's it. No ducking, looking around, or direct combat. This streamline approach, rather than confining the experience, focuses the player on the two biggest features of Limbo: the environmental puzzles and the atmosphere. Oh, the atmosphere.

Limbo's palette is black, white, and grays, and nothing else. Instead of using this refined spectrum to construct high resolution and detail, the designers use the opposite extreme to grand effect. The visual filters and muted shades paint a dreamlike visual experience that is unique and immersing. Background and foregrounds are at a constant haze. Environments feature sparse lines and sharp angles that just barely convey a sense of open woods, labyrinthian underground tunnels, and complex industrial areas. Indeed, the world of Limbo only roughly sketches its home, then hands the pencil to the player's mind to draw the rest of the details. Where this could be easily viewed as pretentious or even lazy on the developer's part, the design is definitely purposeful, as the rest of the tools are clearly in the iron grasp of talent.

The animation is top notch, with subtle particle effects and little details emphasizing every action. Many clues are given for gameplay as well as narrative in the smallest of touches. The audio wisely follows the consistency of the visual design; sparse, light overtones occasionally punctuated by dramatic flair, and effects that will make the player much more squeamish than the persistent visual violence. I began playing with two friends watching, but before the hour mark I was alone. This brings me to an important point:

Limbo's content is not for everyone.

There is implied murder, torture, gore, drowning, dismemberment, and very dark themes. Without giving away spoilers, some actions will likely stun you in their graphic nature. This is not Mario. It is not Braid. It is a game designed around a certain theme, and that theme is played out fully. In the same manner that South Park may appear to target a young audience but is designed for adults, the same could be said for Limbo.

Though I personally feel games should always be based on their own merit, and there are flavorful and unique elements to the experience that is Limbo, everyone will compare titles. As mentioned before, Limbo imbues a desolate and lonely aura likened to the PS2 classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, comparative indie vibes to Braid (also an 'artsy' title criticized as derivative and overpriced), along with gameplay similarities to PC/PSX's Heart of Darkness.

And if the biggest sell for Limbo is the original atmosphere (and it most certainly is), the other is gameplay. Physics based puzzles and platforming challenges make up the bulk of the experience, with exploration and attentive observation yielding literal eggs for completion and achievements. A chapter select allows for easy access, and the game respawns the character only moments before each mistake, again putting the emphasis on puzzle solving and atmosphere. Some of the timing elements of the game are, true to the genre, mostly trial and error, and the designers were wise to avoid any life count or continuing limitations, allowing the player to simply keep at it until done.

Which brings out Limbo's only real 'fault' making the rounds of the critic circles at large. At fifteen bucks, is a game that can be completed in only a few hours worth such a premium? Limbo would certainly not survive the current expectations of boxed retail, and as a Live arcade download only title it is expected to compete with cheaper games containing more longevity. The almighty Castle Crashers, Braid, and even Ikaruga have fielded the same complaints, and review scores are bashed in light of perceived value.

I intend to write an article on the perception of entertainment value later. As for now, it comes down to this:

Limbo is original. Limbo is exceptionally well made. Limbo is, for a certain audience, wonderful. Limbo is fairly short, even abrupt by today's gaming standards. If you are interested, play the demo. It will tell you all you want to know: do I want more of this? Will the experience be worth the money to me, individually? Will I feel at a loss for paying this much for a few hours?

I know I, personally, have no regrets about purchasing Limbo. Indeed, I consider it a gaming experience to rival my top ten. But if you play the demo and are still not sure, Limbo probably is not for you, fifteen bucks or otherwise.

As an end note, I feel that the narrative played out in Limbo is terrifically realized, despite forum debates passed to and fro over the subjective nature of the story and its details. I thought it was rather clear in its intentions, and if it is not painfully obvious by now, I also feel it was a masterfully well done experience. If you are curious about my thoughts on the particulars of the story, feel free to PM me: I don't want to ruin or cheapen the experience for the curious by posting said thoughts in a forum.

OH GOD! SOUND THE FANBOY ALARMS! Insomniac Games, longtime developer of exclusive Sony properties like Spyro (before it got sold to Universal), Ratchet and Clank, and Resistance have sold their souls to the devil! They are teaming up with EA Partners and making a new IP that will appear on PS3 and 360! This is the first time Insomniac has made a game for anything other than a Sony platform, and Sony fanboys are going absolutely apeshit with negativity over the announcement. "RATCHET AND RESISTANCE ARE GOING TO EA! THEY SOLD THEMSELVES OUT TO THE DEVIL! THE WORLD'S ENDING! HAVING A GAME ON ANOTHER SYSTEM ONLY SPELLS DOOM!" hahaha no.

Insomniac has been never owned by anyone. They're independent and will remain so, but they still have strong ties to Sony. Sony still owns the big franchises, AND Insomniac is going to be doing further games in those series exclusively for Sony. As Insomniac's CEO Ted Price said, they will continue working on games with Sony. It's just this new IP that's going to be done with EA that will be on 360. However, some Sony fans can't really understand that and throwing huge fits about it. They just see the words "Insomniac making a 360 game" and go into instarage mode.

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no see you just took a huge shit on sony so no-one who has a ps3 will like you no excuses sell outs

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You money grabbing tossers. Im telling you now, if Ratchet and Clank standards continue to slip, and us PS3 owners get a WORSE game to conform to XBOX mechanics, i will never buy another Insomniac Game again.

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i just wanted to say !!WHAT THE F***!! joining with EA that's one of the dumbest shit i ever heard in my gaming history. EA is going to f*** you over so bad i can't wait to see your faces and what you guys have to say. GOOD LUCK. the only thing that doesn't bother me is at least it's not with Activision and that it's going multiplatform.

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you guys just lost alot of fans and respect for going multi!!! you aren't getting any money from me anymore jackass and trust me LOYALTY and RESPECT goes along way so f*** you Insomniac games!

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Couldn't care less right now. I feel like your any other game studio out there and it's all about the $$$.

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I will never buy an insomniac game ever again and I own every single one you have ever made. Congrates, your fan base that you have built on for over a decade is now gone and all the respect with it, have fun with those 360 fanboys

This deal is kinda unique though. As Kotaku said, there's never been a situation like this before. It's not really like Rare because Rare was owned by Nintendo then got sold to MS. Not really like Bungie because they still appear to be loyal to Sony and are willing to work on the franchises that made them a big name in the first place. It's not like Square because they aren't leaving one company to go to another (like they did with Nintendo to Sony). Not like Factor 5 or Sega either. It's a pretty unique deal and I'm excited to see what comes of it.

I wish the best of luck to Insomniac with their new IP, and hope it's a huge hit. They really deserve it. In the meantime, let's just laugh at all the fanboy hilarity that this move has generated.

So yeah, I haven't done a blog entry in quite some time, but I figured why not come back with a bang? Here's my yearly Black Friday deals post, a little early this time. As far as I know, everything on this post should be accurate. I used leaked scans from the ads found at blackfriday.info and some info from cheapassgamer.com. However, I did start working on this post about a week and half ago, so deals may have changed last minute. I'll review it on Thanksgiving day to check and see if what I have is correct. If you see any errors, please leave them in the comments.

Items in bold are ones that I think are pretty cool and worth checking out.

First things first: here's some notable deals I want to get out of the way from retailers that don't get a special spot in the listing:

Dualshock 3 for $30 at RadioShackLego Rock Band FREE when you buy $20 of stuff at Old Navy

For PC gamers, Steam is having day long sales every day for the next five days. They have some GREAT deals right now, like Osmos for only $2 and Batman Arkham Asylum for $25. Check this page every day for new offers.

I recently decided to get GameFly because I found that there were so many new games I wanted to try out, but not necessarily buy them. So far, i've been very impressed by the service. So much so that I thought I'd let you all know about my experiences so far. If you don't know, GameFly is a rental service, much like NetFlix, that allows you to rent games by mail.

First, let's talk about the main part of the service, renting. Their library of games is extensive. They have almost any game you could want for PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, PSP, and GBA. So far it seems like most of the games I've wanted to rent are readily available, with the exception of brand new games, which tend to have Low to Very Low availability. But usually they'll be more available in a week or two once the initial renters have returned their copies.

The process of selected what games you want is fairly simple. You simply search the site for the game you want to rent and add it to your GameQ. Once you have titles in your GameQ, you can rearrange them to tell GameFly which you would like to have top priority. When you return a game, they will pick the next available game out of your GameQ and send it. Pretty simple.

You receive the game disc/cart only in an envelope that opens up into a pre-paid return envelope. Inside the envelope you'll find a protective cardboard sleeve with a paper sleeve inside that contains your game. You can keep any game as long as you want. Once you are done with a game, just put it back in the envelope, drop it in the mail and they'll take care of the rest. Once they receive your game, they'll ship out the next available game on your GameQ

In addition to offering rental services, GameFly also has an extensive library of used games for you to buy at a discounted price. Often times, their used game prices beat out GameStop. For example, I bought Prince of Persia for PS3 from them for only $22, whereas GameStop was charging $27 at the time I bought it. Another example: GameStop wants $55 for Red Faction: Guerilla whereas GameFly only wants $43 for it. Another nice thing about GameFly is that if you rent a game and you end up enjoying it, you can opt to keep the game without having to send it back. Oh, and all you CIB whores out there, don't worry, if you decide to keep the game, they will mail you the case and instructions for free. Since the case and instructions haven't been touched by anyone, they're in perfect condition. Oh yeah, I should also mention that all 6 games I've rented from GameFly so far have been in mint condition with no scratches or fingerprints of any kind.

Their shipping times are pretty good too. I live in Minnesota, and it usually takes three days for me to get a game from them or for them to receive a game I send back. However, sometimes when sending a game back, they will use something called fast return, where they ship your next game as soon as they get tracking confirmation from the post office that you put the game in the mail. I haven't figured out how that works yet, however.

Their plans are pretty well-priced too. $15.95 per month for one game out at a time, $22.95 for two games, $29.95 for three games, and $36.95 for four games.

GameFly offers a program called GameFly Rewards to all of its members at no charge. Every three months you are a member, you will get $5 GameFly Dollars to used in their used game store. Also, if you're a member for six months, you will get 5% all purchases from them, and if you're a member for a year, you'll get 10% off. So the longer you remain a member, the better of a deal you'll get if you buy games from them. Add that on top of the $5 they give you every three months, and the savings start to stack up pretty well.

Click here to give it a shot! They have a free trial, and your first month is discounted if you decide to keep going with them.

I am very behind in the times but i am sure there are still others out there who have not made the jump to either purchase a 360 or if you already own one to go wireless. This my friends is for you - I am stealing this from the review i did on the actual game page found here. More info at the bottom of the review.

Not much need for an overview on this bad boy.

Simple to hook up: clips on the back of the system then plugs into the USB port beneath it.

Just make sure if you have an ethernet cable plugged in your 360 remove it before plugging this in.

It has gotten pretty good reviews all over the web. Well this is not a good one this is a scathing one! And to be honest i don't see why ANYONE has had anything good to say about it!.

Congratulations MS you made a wireless adapter that works with your console! When 360 could have easily been wireless out of the box the Wii, PS3, DS, and PSP all were!

The hefty 100$ MSRP should have you thinking twice about picking this up when there are cheaper wireless alternatives on the market. Apparently MS originally had stated that only their Wireless adapter would work with the 360 but after i did some research on the web for 360 wireless alternatives I found there are many wireless options available for a much more affordable price.

Unless your an accessory collector and NEED to have something official this is not worth the price given there are so many worthwhile alternatives on the market.

RF Generation Review Score

FAIL*

*sorry for not putting a real score here I just felt that it didn't really deserve one. Outside of the fact that it does what it is supposed to do there are few to no redeeming factors of this piece of hardware.Also i know this isn't really a review field. Get over it. I just enlightened you.

Love them or hate them, zombies have been in video games since the early eighties and don't look like they're going anywhere any time soon. In Valve's latest release, Left 4 Dead, you play as one of four survivors during the zombie apocalypse. Left 4 Dead features four scenarios where you must guide the survivors to a designated spot to be picked up before they are overwhelmed by the zombie horde. Left 4 Dead is a first person shooter, developed by Valve owned Turtle Rock Studios, using the Source engine. Left 4 Dead received a number of awards for it's multiplayer modes at the end of 2008, but is the game really worth your while? Let's take a look at the game and find out...

Now, in about three days, I can officially say that I am a Civil Engineer. Now, Civil Engineers do a lot of things. Designing Bridges, Creating Dams, Building Things, Creating Traffic Jams, Mitigating Floods, yeah, we do all that and much more. See, there is this thing though. Most, if not all Civil Engineers specialize in something. I, for example, specialized in transportation. Seamar, specialized in structures. See, from an ethics standpoint, we agree only to practice in the fields we're competent in. We know better than do attempt to do something when we have no idea how. So, we know better than than to do and market things that we have no idea how to do, so why does Microsoft then try to do something it doesn't really know how to do?

Microsoft does a bunch of things well. I personally enjoy their Wireless Mice and Keyboards. Windows XP was and still is amazing. So Microsoft can in fact do things well. But there are certain things that Microsoft doesn't do well. Vista, for example. Windows 98 is to Windows XP like Windows Me is to Windows Vista. So, some things that Microsoft do are just terrible.

So, Microsoft has this wonderful little console that many of you might lovingly refer to as the Microsoft Xbox 360. It's lovely little console, but it had some problems. These problems caused Microsoft to issue a recall for the 360, and with that recall came quite a monetary hit on their ledger. So, what caused this problem?

So, this wonderful guy at the Gartner Group, Bryan Lewis, who happens to be their research VP and chief analyst, has stated that the source of their gigantic recall lies in the fact that Microsoft decided to design their original GPU by themselves. Did you know that Microsoft designs GPUs? Neither did I. When I think Graphics Accelerator, I think NVidia and ATI. Turns out, once a massive recall is initiated, that Microsoft also thinks ATI for their graphics needs, as that's who they contracted to redesign their 360 GPU.

Here's to you, Microsoft. If only you had used ATI or NVidia to begin with, you wouldn't have had this massive recall and all those extended warranties. I bet you all don't care, as your warranties are longer. But then, there are probably several of you who wish they didn't have to send their 360 in because of a RRoD. If only Microsoft stuck to what it could do well and contracted out that what it couldn't, you might have never had to send out your 360.

People have been sneering at the price of the PS3. They say it is expensive. You know, this statement is correct. However, I find it troubling that many of these people that say the Playstation 3 is overly expensive have no problem laying down the money for Microsoft's 360. I find such actions humorous. Let's analyze what I perceive as the true costs of these two systems, in terms of what they have to offer and what hidden costs lie with the system. Perhaps, we'll be enlightened after this discussion. Perhaps you'll be enraged. Chances are though that my arguments are pretty decent, and perhaps it will make take a second look at which system you ultimately end up purchasing.

It’s Monday, and you know what that means, boys and girls. It’s time for the usual installment of Entertainment Geekly!

What? On a Monday? It’s not usually on a Monday, you say? It is this week, bitch. If you don’t like it, I’ll have an abortion on your face.

Also, I’d like to point out that absolutely nothing happened last week. I suppose something may have happened in the middle east, or within the arena of global politics, but who follows that stuff? I don’t.

Instead, I’m watching The Hills on MTV. It’s the season premiere and LC just met a cute guy, but Whitney didn’t like him and LC probably only liked him because she was drunk. Also, people are saying that LC was in an “inappropriate video” with a guy from Laguna, but she says it’s just a rumor.

Meanwhile, I’m praying to everything unholy that someone with a brain will just drop a vial of VX nerve agent in the middle of their lavish Barbie fashion show magazine party. I want to watch them writhe in uncontrollable spasmic death throws as pox develop on their soft tissue and they vomit their guts all over their Vera Wang cocktail gowns. I would smile as the average IQ of California raises by 10 points.

Sadly, this will never happen.

But hey, the XBOX 360 costs less now. I can settle for that. And I was so surprised when I heard. Who expected Microsoft to respond to the PS3 price cut with a price cut of their own? It’s shocking!

Maybe someone will sue Rockstar this week and I’ll have something to talk about on Friday. Cross your fingers.

Collecting movies, video games, and other pop culture crap people with lives don't have time to worry about.

That said, 300 comes out on DVD this Tuesday (7/31/07) in North America. I'll be buying the 2-disc special edition. Anyone who hasn't seen this movie should go buy it as well. You'll see first hand just how much of a man you can never be.

The Simpsons movie came out this week, as I'm sure you all know. I haven't seen it yet. I heard it was okay. Maybe after this, they can finally cancel the series and let it rest in peace. Seriously, when did The Simpsons jump the shark? Everyone stopped watching like 58 seasons ago.

The San Diego Comic Con has been running for the last 3 days and is sorta kinda wrapping up a little. There was a teaser for The Dark Knight which is reportedly about 45 seconds long and doesn't show any actual footage of the movie, just some artwork.

There was some Iron Man footage shown, but nothing really serious.

Of course, the biggest buzz is over the mysterious Cloverfield project, which still remains unnamed. There were four posters given away at the ComicCon, which bear the same image with 1 of 4 possible words scrawled across the top. This is what the poster looks like.

The rumor mills are spinning hard about an XBOX 360 price drop to compete with PS3. My psychic powers tell me it will happen. They also tell me Microsoft will deny the price drop up until the moment the tags are changed in the stores and possibly for some time after. Microsoft will also vehemently deny that the price drop has anything at all to do with the PS3's pricing, citing that they just wanted to make the console more affordable for purely humanitarian reasons, as they are dedicated solely to helping people world-wide.

Speaking of socialist lies, Kotaku is running a story about Chinese government regulations to limit the amount of time citizens play MMORPGs. Games that allow workers to simulate capitalist ideals? We can't have that! Chairman Mao would be proud.